Offended

Chapter XV

As Monika finally woke up from her forced sleep, she could only groan in discomfort. Her head throbbed with every blink, breath or movement, as her eyes adjusted to the darkness. A strong smell of roses lingered in the air. Turning her head to the right, she could make out a big window; a small breeze coming from there, made the long and pristine curtains gently sway in front of it. As the breeze hit her face, Monika could feel herself become more awake, as she slowly started to regain feeling and motion in her body. After letting out a pained groan, the girl silently sat up in bed and looked around. It was a small room, somewhat similar to cheap motel rooms that she and her family would sometimes stay in when travelling to a different state. In front of the bed was a vanity, with a small chair beside it, and a closet. To her left was a wooden door, intricate details were etched onto it, resembling tree branches and flowers like roses and lilies.

Silently getting out of bed, Monika placed her feet down on the cold room floor and, without taking her eyes off the door, stood up. She was afraid that at any moment the door would swing open and that thing would be there to torment her again. After waiting a couple more seconds, she made her way towards the door and placed her ear onto the cold wood. Nothing. As Monika looked down at her feet, a small slither of light was coming from underneath the door. It was dim and seemed to sway from side to side and sometimes flicker. "Candles?" – a voice asked, somewhere deep in the girl's mind. After staying silent and listening intensely for any movement outside, Monika finally cracks open the door. She cringes as the door slowly creaks open; it sounded as if the hinges were about to fall of any second if she as much as nudged the door with more force. As she made her way out of the room, she found herself in a dimly lit corridor. Candles and dark velvet wallpapers adorned the walls. There were no portraits or paintings hung up; unforeseen amounts of doors had taken their place on each side. A soft red carpet laid beneath her feet. At the very end of the corridor stood a massive door, made out of polished mahogany wood and decorated with rose carvings. From what the girl could tell, it was slightly ajar, a smell of rose water seeping through the tiny crack. She felt a little dizzy and mushy inside as the smell of roses slowly put her into a sort of trance, but she quickly tried to shake of feeling and looked to her left, averting her gaze from the door and turning away from the fragrance seeping from the room. To her left was a staircase. The red carpet from the corridor went down the stairs and stopped at the very end of them.

After a little bit of contemplating, Monika cautiously started to make her way towards the staircase and down the steps. Almost halfway across she froze in her spot, a slight snoring noise could be heard from downstairs. She climbed back up a few steps before crouching down and looking trough the thin balusters of the staircase. Downstairs was a huge open-plan room. The kitchen and dining room were in the far back, candle lights illuminating the space. Upfront stood two red couches, one faced away from the staircase, and one facing it. A mahogany desk stood in between them, a vase of white and red flowers and an ash tray was placed on top of it. The vase and ash tray seemed to be made out of porcelain. A few extinguished cigarettes had been carelessly dropped into the tray, leaving a disgusting smell of smoke behind.

Tearing her eyes away from the desk, Monika glanced up at the couches. That thing was sprawled out on top of one. His coat and fedora were left discarded on the floor, but his boots and trousers were still on. His chest moved up and down in a steady rhythm, his right arm was placed over his stomach, while his right was covering his face as if covering his "eyes".

He was asleep. Or at least it seemed like it.

"Well, escape was definitely out of the question for now as going downstairs isn't an option" – Monika thought as she climbed back up. "But... now that "he" is asleep... I guess I can't go wrong in exploring a little bit." Just then, she caught the same rose water fragrance and turned towards the slightly ajar door down the hall. It couldn't hurt, right? Just a little sneak peek would be fine, right? Curiosity got the better of her, and the girl quickly, yet quietly, made her way towards the mahogany door. The smell got stronger the closer she got to it. As she peeked through the crack in the door, she saw what looked to be a big bookcase, filled with hardcover books, intricate designs in gold, silver and bronze adorned their spines. "Curiosity killed the cat" – she thought to herself, - "But satisfaction brought it back."

As the temptation to see what was inside gnawed at her, she gave in and went inside. Oh, but she wishes she hadn't.

The first thing that caught her eye was a display of shelfs on the wall in front of her eyes. Whips, handcuffs, gags and... other devices were displayed on them. To her right was a king-sized bed, silk sheets were draped over the pillows and mattress, which gave it an "interesting" look. Next to it was a love seat, draped in the exact same red silk that was on the bed. A violin was carelessly thrown on it, it's bow on the floor next to it. Vases filled to the brim with roses were placed on nightstands, shelves, cupboards, some even decorated the headboard of the bed.

Monika's eyes frantically scanned the room in a mix of awe, disgust and confusion. She had wandered into his private quarters. The girl started to back away. "Maybe if I leave it as it is, he won't suspect a thing, maybe-" her thoughts were cut short when her back collided with something warm and somewhat firm, as she heard someone let out a huff and then a low chuckle behind her.

She felt a pair of arms make their way around her waist.

~

 Offenderman doesn't belong to me. All of the credit goes to his creator. Only the story belongs to me.